Mending Broken Glass
by Caryce Jade
Summary: Prequel to "Reassembly". Story of how Severus, Sirius, James, and Remus became friends. Covers the time between immediately after the Shrieking Shack incident to the deaths of James and Lily.
1. Chapter 1

**Nope, don't own them. I just take them out of the box and play my own twisted games with them.**

AN: This is a prequel to my story "Reassembly". It's kind of the back story of Severus' friendship with Sirius, Remus, and James. Since "Reassembly" is AU after book 4, some elements of the subsequent books are disregarded.

Ch.1: Fallout

"I can't _believe_ you were that stupid, Siri!" James Potter was fuming. "He could have been killed! You know, there's a line between pranking and bullying and nearly getting somebody killed! Thank Merlin I was able to stop him in time!"

"James is right." Remus Lupin stood up from his seat in the Room of Requirement. "I can't _believe_ that you would endanger _anyone_, even Snape, much less _me_, in that manner! In fact, I'm going to go apologize to him right now!" He marched out of the room without looking back.

Lily said nothing, just walked over and slapped Sirius hard across the face. She was crying as she did so. "I could have lost him!" She fell to her knees, sobbing.

Sirius just turned and stared at the wall. "Leave me," he said softly. "I need to think."

"That you do," James said crisply, helping Lily to her feet. "You really need to find your heart again, Siri," he said sadly. "I know you have one, and the two of you really aren't all that different, you know." He too left the room, taking Lily with him.

Sirius paced the length of the room, running his hand through his long black hair. _Where did it go wrong? I only wanted him to stop nosing around every month. I figured...SHIT! Remus loses control around humans during that time. Oh Merlin, how could I have been so STUPID? He really COULD have been killed, and I would have caused Remus to become the very thing he wants to avoid! Nobody deserves that, not even Snivelly._ He felt sick. _I nearly got somebody killed and betrayed one of my best friends._

"Mr. Black. Just the young man I wanted to see." Dumbledore was standing in the doorway.

"What is my punishment, sir?" Sirius said quietly.

"I think that you are doing a sufficient job of punishing yourself," the aged headmaster replied. "Sit." They both sat down. "Have you realized what you have done wrong, Mr. Black?"

"I do. I nearly sent a fellow student to his death, and I betrayed one of my best friends."

"Two grave sins indeed. How do you propose to make amends?"

"I intend to apologize to both of them, though I don't expect or deserve their forgiveness." He gave a short, humorless laugh. "I always muck things up, don't I?"

"Mr. Black, I believe that some things that were supposed to be bad often turn out good. By your doing two bad things, I can see four good things possibly coming to pass. You forgot one thing in your proposal. You must also forgive yourself, even if they do not forgive you. That is the only way you can move on. Now go do what you know you must."

Sirius nodded and walked down to the infirmary, which was mercifully empty except for one occupied bed.

"Black. Come to finish me off, have you?" The voice was flat, brittle, but with an underlying current of pain.

Sirius sighed and sat down on the empty bed next to Snape's. "No. I came to apologize, though I do not expect or deserve your forgiveness. What I did was horribly wrong. Hell, I've been horribly wrong to you all along." He held up a hand to take an oath. "I swear never to act with malicious intent towards you again." He sighed. "I'm sorry." He got up and started to leave.

"Wait." Sirius turned towards the other boy. As he did, he saw how slumped his shoulders were, and how _thin_ he was. "Don't go." _I don't want to be alone when the nightmares come, even IF it's Black._

"I'll stay as long as you want...what do you want to be called? I like for my friends to call me Siri." _I can't BELIEVE I'm doing this, but I can't just leave him. Oh well, maybe James and Lily are right..._

"Sev, if you're my friend. I don't have any friends here other than Lily." _Great. Expose another vulnerability to him, why don't you._

"I'll be your friend if you let me, Sev." _And I mean it, if you take me up on it._ "Lily's always said you were an all right guy, we've just never given you a fair shake." _Or bothered to get to know you._

"How do I know you're not..." He yawned. "...setting me up?"

"I wouldn't tell somebody I was setting up what I really prefer to be called, and I _never_ offer to be somebody's friend unless I mean it. Friends are hard to come by if you're a Gryffindor in a Slytherin family. Even my own brother rarely speaks to me. 'Course, I ran away last summer, so I stay with James' parents now. Remus actually has parents that care about him, and Peter's got his mother. 'Course, Peter's not had much to do with us this year, for some reason. His loss, I guess."

"My only other friend is Lucius Malfoy, but he graduated four years ago."

"His family's friends with mine. My cousin, Narcissa, is betrothed to him. She's a year ahead of us."

"We've met. I really don't know her, though."

"She's not _too_ awful. She risks a lot to even acknowledge that I exist. So, you seeing anybody?"

"You can answer that question on you own. You?"

_That means Lily._ "Sort of. There's a cute second-year, Jade Cummings, but I'm going to get to know her better and wait until she's a bit older before we get too serious."

"Are her sisters Olivia and Eleanor, and her brother Richard?"

"Yes, why?"

"Olivia is in our year in my house. In our potions class, the small, thin black-haired girl that always partners with Mary MacDonald. Eleanor was the same year as Lucius, and Richard graduated two years ago. Eleanor was a Ravenclaw, and Richard was a Slytherin."

"Do you remember, last year, the tall, thin, strawberry-blonde that was sorted into Gryffindor? This year, she's a beater on the quidditch team?" Severus nodded. "That's Jade."

"Olivia is an oddity among the pureblood Slytherins girls. She's not betrothed, since her father refused to betroth any of his children. His first marriage, the one Eleanor resulted from, was, by all accounts, a match made in hell. He feels tha no alliance or monetary gain is worth that."

"Jade's not betrothed either." _No shit, Sherlock!_

"I grew up with Lily, so I know she's not, since she's muggle-born."

"Wow. So you two _have_ known each other for a long time."

"Since we were four. She's been my best friend since the day we met, when her family moved in the house next door to us." He laid back on the pillows. "The fight we had last year after you guys pantsed me was mostly for show. We do that a lot."

"I really didn't have any friends growing up. Rick Cummings was a friendly aquaintance, as was Lucius Malfoy. Caspar, his father, is a real bastard. Makes my parents seem almost kind." He bent down and removed his shoes, then transfigured his clothes into pajamas, then got under the blankets. _Might as well stay here tonight. Who knows when he might be this open again. I hope Pomfrey doesn't mind too much._ "Rick and Jade's father, Eugene, is decent enough. Has the Slytherin ambition, but doesn't believe in breaking people apart or crushing them on your way up. Says that you never know when you might need to call in a favor or need a contact. But my only real friends are James, Remus, Peter, Lily, and Jade, and out of those, James and ..." He yawned. "...Jade are the closest." He looked over and saw that Sev had already drifted off. He gave a rueful half-smile and snuggled down into the pillows and began to doze himself.


	2. Chapter 2

**Nope, still not mine.**

**Ch. 2: Bonds**

A couple of hours later, Sirius was jerked out of a sound sleep by the sound of screaming.

"I promise I'll be good! Please don't hit me anymore, Father! I didn't mean to." Sirius winced. _Sounds like myself, almost._

Sev was in the throes of some sort of nightmare. _I really ought to get him out of that. How do James and Remus usually wake me up? Oh, now I remember._ He went over to the other bed and sat on the edge of it and began to stroke the long, straight black hair, which he was surprised to find was not greasy, but just very fine and soft. "Shh. It's just a dream, Sev. You're safe here. Nobody's going to hurt you here, Sev."

The screaming died away to choked sobs as Sirius continued the gentle stroking. _I usually throw up when I wake up if I've been crying hard. Might as well be ready for that._ He _accio_-ed a basin, some tissues, and a cup of water. He noticed Pomfrey in the doorway to her room. She gave him a crisp nod of approval, then went back into her room.

"Come on, Sev. Wake up. It's just a dream."

Finally, after several minutes of gasping sobs, his eyes snapped open, and Sirius had the basin ready as Sev started retching violently into it. The whole time, Sirus held his hair back and whispered encouragement and reassurance.

When it was over, Sirus vanished the contents of the basin. He then handed Sev the tissues and a glass of water, which the other boy gratefully took. "You okay now?" he asked.

Sev nodded. "Why...why are you helping me?" he asked in a small voice.

"Because I've been in your shoes more times than I care to count. Do you want to talk about it?"

"My father...he...he..."

"Does he beat you, Sev?"

The boy nodded, leaning against Sirius' shoulder. Sirius felt it grow wet with tears, but found that he didn't mind.

"It sucks, doesn't it. Mine beat me too. Sometimes my mum even got in on it. I couldn't do anything right, and Reg couldn't do anything wrong."

"My mother...tries to stop him..."

"...and he hits her too," Sirus finished. "That's similar to Caspar Malfoy's methods."

_I can't believe he's not mocking me, and that he goes through the same thing._ "You won't make fun of me later?"

"No. It's too personal. Besides, there's some things you just don't make fun of. Do you have anywhere to go when school lets out?"

"I always go back, 'cause when I'm not there, he beats Mum instead. Getting to see Mum, and getting to see or communicate with Lily every day makes it worth it. I never go home for Christmas."

"I don't know what I'm doing this year. James' parents have practically adopted me, but I don't want to intrude. Remus' parents live too far away and are too poor. Maybe we can all hole up in the Room of Requirement and make out own Christmas." He gave the other boy a grin. "It can be a real starting over for all of us."

"Remus came by, and James and Lily, before you came."

Sirius sighed. "Remus said he was going to. I owe him a _huge_ apology. I hope you don't blame him. He can't help what he is, and he didn't ask to get bit."

"I don't. He was actually...nice."

"He's one of the nicest people you'll ever meet. He'd give you the last knut in his pocket if it'd help you out. James is kind of like that too. Sure, we like to play pranks, even on each other at times, but if one of us needs a shoulder, the rest of us are there. That includes you now, Sev. If you ever need somebody, we'll be there."


	3. Chapter 3

**Not mine...**

Sirius awoke the next morning to find Sev sleeping against his shoulder. _We must have fallen asleep talking._ Being careful not to awaken the other boy, he went in search of Madam Pomfrey.

He found her in her office, charting. "Sit down, Mr. Black. This is about Mr. Snape, isn't it." Her eyes held a knowing look.

"Does like what happened earlier happen often?"

"Frequently. That's why he's here. In his own house, his dreams would be met with scorn and ridicule rather than empathy and compassion. When Mr. Cummings was a prefect, and when he was Head Boy, he kept them from harrassing him, as did Mr. Malfoy when he was a student, but now, there's no one to stop them, since Horace does little to manage his house. Since he's already confided in you, I'll just confirm what he's told you. I'll also tell you why he's not just given Dreamless Sleep. It's because he is one of those rare people for whom it does not completely work. Even taking it, he will have breakthrough dreams that are worse than normal dreams. So it's better that he have the actual dreams and get them over with. Now, go on and get ready to watch that quidditch game. I believe your girlfriend's playing."

Sirius took that as a dismissal, and knewthat the matron was not going to elaborate more on the subject, so he went back to talk to Sev, if he was awake.

He was. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, shoulders slumped. "I'd thought you left."

"No. Are you free to go?"

"Yes." He sighed. "I just sleep here until the nightmares become less frequent."

_I'm very glad I have James and Remus._ "Okay. Let's go find Remus and Lily. James and Jade have a game today. Maybe we can all sit together."

"O...okay." _I usually just study with Lily on game days._

"Come on and get dressed, them." Sirius transfigured his pajamas back into black jeans and a dark red sweater. Sev transfigured his back into patched black jeans and a worn deep green sweater over a gray button-down. "Here." Sirius tossed Sev a hair tie, then tied back his own hair. "It's supposed to be windy today."

"Th...thanks."

"Don't mention it."

The two boys walked towards the Gryffindor Common Room. Halfway there, they were met by Remus and Lily. Lily threw her arms around Sev's neck as though she were afraid of him disappearing.

"Remus," Sirius began. "I'm sorry I..."

"Siri," Remus interrrupted, holding up a hand to silence him. "I've already forgiven you. It doesn't mean I've forgotten, but it does mean I'm willing to take the good with the bad. I take it you've found your heart again?" He inclined his head towards Severus, who was talking to Lily, in greeting.

"I did. I didn't realize I had lost it until I found it again."

Remus smiled. "Good. Listen, Siri, Lily's still put out with you, and if she's told Jade _she'll_ be seething, so be extra nice to them."

Sirius winced. "That's to be expected, and no less than I deserve." Both Jade's and Lily's tempers were legendary. you didn't want to be on the business end of _either_ of their wands, and if they teamed up, they were unstoppable.

The four of them talked about other things as they walked down to the quidditch pitch. Since it was Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw, Slytherins and Hufflepuffs were scattered equally through the stands.

The game was one of the roughest of the season, though Gryffindor held a slim lead.

Suddenly, the Ravenclaw beater sent a bludger flying towards Jade's back. Before Sirius could shout, it hit her, knocking her off her broom. She began falling towards the ground, landing hard, and was still.

"JADE!!" Sirius shrieked. He started to tear down through the stands towards her, but his friends stopped him.

"Let the medics work," Remus said.

"They've called a time-out," Lily observed.

"And a foul on Ravenclay," Sev added. "Listen, you two take care of Siri while I find Olivia and bring her over. She's probably going to pieces." He started off towards the other set of stands, and within a couple of minutes returned with the tiny black-haired girl from their N.E.W.T. Potions class. Lily immediately put an arm around her as she started to cry.

"Let's head back to the castle," Lily said. "We can wait outside the Hospital Wing. That way we'll know soonest about Jade."

"Livy said that Narcissa Black's owling their parents," Sev said. "They were down closer than we were. It looks bad."

Lily nodded. "Sev, you and Remus help Siri, and Mary and I will help Livy."

Sev nodded. "Cissy's keeping in touch by owl. In something like this, house boundaries don't matter a whole lot." He and Remus got on either side of Sirius, who was staring blankly down at the field, where the medics were working. "Come on, Siri," he said gently, but firmly. "We have to go now."

Sirius nodded numbly and let Remus and Sirius start to guide him towards the castle.

About halfway there, Sirius suddenly stopped.

"Are you all right?" Remus and Severus asked at the same time. Lily, Olivia, and Mary were still moving towards the castle.

"I think I'm going to be sick," Sirius said softly. He leaned forward and proceeded to throw up for several minutes.

Finally, he stopped, and fell back, gasping. "I've never been so scared in my life," he whispered.

"She'll be okay," Remus said, seeking to reassure his friend. "She's young, and she's tough."

Finally, they arrived outside the Hospital Wing, where they set up to sit and wait for any news.


End file.
